Home HeadQuarters, Inc., recently announced that Gary Wright joined the organization as the Construction and Inspection Manager. In this position, Mr. Wright will manage the overall operations of the Housing Construction and Rehabilitation Department. Prior to this position, Mr. Wright was a Construction Project Manager at San-Gra Corporation.

Rose Piraino joins Home HeadQuarters as an Accounting Clerk & Bookkeeper and is responsible for accounts payable. Ms. Piraino has been in the accounting field for 8 years and previously worked at Carrier.

Home HeadQuarters, Inc., recently announced the promotion of Karina Van Hoof to the position of Lending Manager. In this senior management position, Ms Van Hoof will oversee the revolving loan fund and manage lending activity. Ms. Van Hoof was recently accepted into the Leadership Greater Syracuse class of 2004. Prior to this position, Ms. Van Hoof was the Quality Control and Grants Manager working with Home HeadQuarters since November 2001.

Home HeadQuarters, Inc., recently announced that Virginia Gilbert joined the organization as the Home Equity Protection Coordinator. In this position, Ms. Gilbert is managing the day-to-day operations of Home Equity Protection, a unique program that offers City of Syracuse residents the opportunity to protect the value of their homes should housing prices drop in their zipcode. Prior to this position, Ms. Gilbert was a joint-venture partnership consultant in Washington DC. Ms. Gilbert is a native of Houston, Texas and holds a Masters of Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.

Denise Novak also joins Home HeadQuarters as a Community Partnerships Coordinator and is a project manager coordinating activities within two city neighborhoods receiving Syracuse Neighborhood Initiative project funding. Ms. Novak is also responsible for data management and reporting. Ms. Novak interned previously for the City of Syracuse, SyraStat Division, and holds a Masters of Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.

Kelley Guyder joins Home HeadQuarters as Assistant to the Executive Director. In this position, Ms. Guyder is assisting the Executive Director and senior staff members while also acting as a liaison between the organization and its Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Prior to this position, Ms. Guyder was an Executive Assistant to the President of United Way of Central New York for thirteen years.

Tina Lauria also joins Home HeadQuarters as an Accounting Specialist and is responsible for accounts payable and property management. Ms. Lauria worked previously as a Corporate Finance Specialist at CB Technologies

SNI Chairman Bill Byrne and his wife Nancy Byrne will be honored at the 21st Annual Interreligious Leadership Award Dinner on Tuesday, June 10, 2003. The couple is receiving the IRC Leadership Award for their strong roles in the community, as role models with their family and peers and their spiritual involvement. The event will be held at the OnCenter and promises to be a great evening saluting the Byrnes. Call the Interreligious Council at 449-3552 x112 for more information.

The Syracuse chapter of Rebuilding Together, a non-profit effort dedicated to assisting low-income community members make needed and emergency home repairs, announced today a grant from the Greater Syracuse Association of REALTORS© (GSAR). The $2500 grant will assist Rebuilding Together in purchasing materials and supplies for the ten-member volunteer group's repair and renovation efforts later this year.

The Syracuse chapter of Rebuilding Together, formerly named Christmas in April, focuses their efforts on low-income home owners that are older adults, single parents or disabled individuals who cannot afford to make needed repairs on their homes. Last year, donated funds allowed Rebuilding Together to assist nine Syracuse area homeowners with such improvements as new water heaters, repaired porches and repainted house exteriors. The group, made up of community members from the housing and non-profit arenas, union leaders and banking representatives, works in a collaborative effort with the homeowners to accomplish the home repairs in a one-day, area-wide rebuilding and repairing effort. Syracuse homeowners who receive Rebuilding Together's assistance are selected through an application process that requires participants to be income-eligible and current on their property taxes.

"The GSAR Grant will help us assist more people and in the process, will also help improve our neighborhoods," said Sarah Torano, Rebuilding Together Coordinator and Home HeadQuarters Program Specialist. "It's amazing what people can accomplish when they work together and get the needed assistance."

Rebuilding Together is the largest volunteer home rehabilitation organization in America with chapters in 865 cities and towns in all 50 states. In 2001, a total of almost 1.8 million volunteers worked 20 million hours to rehabilitate 63,000 houses and non-profit facilities. In 2002, more than 257,250 women and men donated over 2.6 million hours of time to rehabilitate 8,050 houses and non-profit facilities. For more information on donating time or money or find out about the application process for the Syracuse chapter of Rebuilding Together, people can call Home HeadQuarters at (315) 474-1939.